Bald Eagle,Wolf,Sunset,with FZ8 (pics)

Haven't been this excited,with a camera,in quite some time...but the FZ8 is really fun to use,and begs to be used

More from the Zoo,plus a sunset,from last night.

Mrs. Eagle in B&W



Wheat ?



Sunset outside my window



Wolf in B&W



Mrs. Eagle in Color



all shot with FZ8 ,in RAW (anyone else shooting FZ8 in RAW?)

Edited in PS

ANAYV

The first eaglehas real character - looks like an elder statesmen- super. Love the sunset.

Photoshop is under the Christmas tree - so rumour has it

I can understand having fun with the fz8 all too well . Great shots - I love the eagle and the wolf, and the you are lucky to have such a sunset at home.

I hardly ever use RAW with the fz8, not only because it's slow but because it was a lot of work on PP, and unless it was a low light shot, the jpeg usually gave satisfactory results, with minumum pp. But maybe I should try too.

WE have had mutual influence, Your shots are one of the inspirations that have made me finally buy a lx3. I bought it on one of the sales in your country, and shipped it to a friend who will be coming to Israel towards the end of February (my birthday), maybe Panny will give us percentage

All the best and have a great holiday season
--
Dov

fz8, minolta 0, raynox 250, oly c-180, oly b-300 (and hoping for more )

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30848682@N04/

Anayv, I like the wolf, the strange sunset, and Mrs Eagle in colour. I don't normally shoot RAW because I got mixed results compared to the accompanying jpeg out of cam on the FZ30 the few times I experimented with it. I probably have to learn to use Silkypix properly. Do you find there is much difference from the FZ8 - maybe denoising high ISO shots leaves more details in RAW?

I wish you a happy, fun holiday season.

Richard

Very nice set. Love the sunset
--
Dez

http://photos.dezmix.com

windmillgolfer said:

The first eaglehas real character - looks like an elder statesmen- super. Love the sunset.

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thanks

windmillgolfer said:

Photoshop is under the Christmas tree - so rumour has it

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Hope that rumor turns out to be true !!

Good Christmas present

ANAYV

doto41 said:

I can understand having fun with the fz8 all too well

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doto41 said:

Great shots - I love the eagle and the wolf, and the you are lucky to have such a sunset at home.

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thanks,Dov. Plenty of Sunsets ,to see....As long as i can zoom in...past the unattractive buildings,factories,and lights,in the foreground

doto41 said:

I hardly ever use RAW with the fz8, not only because it's slow

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Compared to jpeg...it sure is

doto41 said:

but because it was a lot of work on PP, and unless it was a low light shot, the jpeg usually gave satisfactory results, with minimum pp. But maybe I should try too.

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Then again,with results you get,maybe i should shoot jpeg ,lol.

Actually,i want to do a test,to see I f i can squeeze out the benefits of shooting RAW...cause if the jpegs are better...then I must reconsider either digging deeper into the Tunnels of RAW development...or just lower everything in camera (sharpness,contrast,etc), then edit the jpeg,without the added step of RAW

I'm at the very basic level of RAW..can't get any simpler,than my level,at the moment...it's 2 levels below rookie/beginner)

doto41 said:

WE have had mutual influence,

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Yes indeed...so glad for that!

doto41 said:

Your shots are one of the inspirations that have made me finally buy a lx3. I bought it on one of the sales in your country, and shipped it to a friend who will be coming to Israel towards the end of February (my birthday),

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Congrats!!

doto41 said:

maybe Panny will give us percentage

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That be nice

doto41 said:

All the best and have a great holiday season

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To you and yours,as well ,Dov !

ANAYV

radamczak said:

Anayv, I like the wolf, the strange sunset, and Mrs Eagle in colour.

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Thanks,Richard !

radamczak said:

I don't normally shoot RAW because I got mixed results compared to the accompanying jpeg out of cam on the FZ30 the few times I experimented with it. I probably have to learn to use Silkypix properly.

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I heard Raw therapy works good,for the FZ30..though I never tried it.

radamczak said:

Do you find there is much difference from the FZ8 - maybe denoising high ISO shots leaves more details in RAW?

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I'm really a rookie,to RAW,and wanted to try and get the best,out of the FZ8,mainly avoiding the NR....but I'm not so sure I'm doing any better than the Venus engine would do.

The RAW file is bigger,and gives me more leadway,when editing,in PS....than the small jpeg file. My thoughts are ,there is more detail preserved.....but I'm shooting only ISO100...so maybe it's me ,just thinking that...and not really true.

I'd have to test it ,more,and see if the gains,are worth the slower performance

radamczak said:

I wish you a happy, fun holiday season.

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Same to you and yours,Richard !!

ANAYV

Between these and Dov's pics, I am not sure why someone would need an upgrade. Great shots, Anayv, particularly the b/w.
Happy Holidays!
Daniel
--
http://danielsonkin.smugmug.com/

ANAYV said:

Haven't been this excited,with a camera,in quite some time...but the FZ8 is really fun to use,and begs to be used . . .

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All great shots! Could you please summarize very briefly how you PP the RAW files . . . the software, and the order in which you apply the processes?

My own excursions into RAW have been somewhat frustrating . . .

Mike

DezM said:

Very nice set. Love the sunset

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Thanks,Dez.

I have few windows in my apartment,but the main one,is located in a great spot for sunsets 9 months of the year

ANAYV

Not bad these FZ thingies are they?

Fine shots as usual, although I do think that RAW is overated.

All the best.
Steve

ANAYV said:

Haven't been this excited,with a camera,in quite some time...but the FZ8 is really fun to use,and begs to be used

ANAYV

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Mikedigi said:

ANAYV said:

Haven't been this excited,with a camera,in quite some time...but the FZ8 is really fun to use,and begs to be used . . .

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All great shots! Could you please summarize very briefly how you PP the RAW files . . . the software, and the order in which you apply the processes?

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Well,Mike ,right now,I'm as basic as one can get,with RAW

First,I open PS...then import the RAW file.
Then ,if needed,on a image by image basis,I adjust color temp,contrast,clarity.

It's really a 'capture' setting,for me,more than a 'developing' setting

i.e. I shoot RAW to avoid the Venus NR,and have a bigger file (with no jpeg compression) to work with.

In theory,I should be able to make more adjustments,before the image 'breaks up' or shows 'artifacts',shooting RAw,over jpeg.

But most adjustments,are made after converting the RAw to a TIFF file.

From there....
I kinda adjust,as I go

Per image,no batch,as each image might have different areas,to adjust,and not always the same,IMHO.

No I have no presets,or remembered settings....but some are similar

In Contrast,not much ,at all,with most shots.

I use Shadow/Highlight tool,first,and that covers most exposure issues.

I tend to under expose by up to 1 stop,then use shadow/highlight tool,to brighten up the dark areas.

If adding contrast, usually no more than +10 to + 20 ....usually between +5 to
+ 10.

Next would be Saturation.
Up to + 25 boost,depending on the image.

USM- Most times,done as a two stage process

First time,with Amount 25-50, Radios 3.5 to 5.0 and threshold 3

Second time (not always) - Amount around +75 to +100 , Radious .9 to 1.2 Threshold 3 . (probably could be set lower,with LX3,than with other Panasonic camera's,that show more noise)

Sorry for the l o n g answer...but wanted you to understand it all,since I do little RAw editing,and mainly conversion..and adjust ,as mentioned,after the RAW conversion.

I'm still not sure it's worth the penalty,of losing burst mode,and waiting 3-4 seconds,before able to take another shot.

hope this helps

ANAYV

Steve.UK said:

Not bad these FZ thingies are they?

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Not bad , at all !

Steve.UK said:

Fine shots as usual, although I do think that RAW is overated.

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thanks,Steve.

Well,for a small sensor,RAW is perhaps more limited (dynamic range,detail retention)

But might be some benefit,with no jpeg compression,and a much bigger file size,to edit.

I find it,more needed,shooting with the LX3,to help deal with the color balance. FZ8 is fine,in that area.

Still considering,if,for me,it's worth it...with the FZ8...considering I loose 3fps shooting

ANAYV

ANAYV said:

. . . But most adjustments,are made after converting the RAw to a TIFF file.

From there....
I kinda adjust,as I go. . . .

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Thanks for the long answer, I'll follow it carefully stage by stage. So far I've only used RAW for occasional 800-1250 ISO shots, then the problem is the massive amount of noise and trying to decide at what stage to try to remove it, and how. But with these shots the colours finish up a bit better than the JPEG.

With these shots I've converted to JPEG first on default settings (Silkypix), I had not thought of converting to TIFF.

What I like least about RAW is obviously the slowness, plus the big files, to which are then added the various JPEG stages and in your case the TIFF. I guess you have to decide what to keep and what to delete at the end . . .

Mike

Mikedigi said:

ANAYV said:

. . . But most adjustments,are made after converting the RAw to a TIFF file.

From there....
I kinda adjust,as I go. . . .

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Thanks for the long answer,

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Your welcome!

Mikedigi said:

I'll follow it carefully stage by stage.

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for now...and hopefully,you'll find even better workflow,than my suggestions,with time. Remember,I'm a total rookie ,to RAW,and limited ,with PS and editing/Post Processing (I'm much better with audio,than photo ,in that regard)

Mikedigi said:

So far I've only used RAW for occasional 800-1250 ISO shots, then the problem is the massive amount of noise and trying to decide at what stage to try to remove it, and how.

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Yep...although I tend to under expose,before going up the ISO ladder....but I understand,for many,sometimes,you get the shot,with the noise,over not getting a blur free shot,at all.

One way to deal with noise...and keep some detail,is to selectively,remove the noise. Some areas will show more noise ,than others.

Mikedigi said:

But with these shots the colours finish up a bit better than the JPEG.

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More bits (data) to work with,with RAW,over the jpeg,me thinks.

Mikedigi said:

With these shots I've converted to JPEG first on default settings (Silkypix), I had not thought of converting to TIFF.

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If editing the shot,more,after RAW conversion...I'd recommend TIFF, if the absolute best IQ is needed,or your doing extensive editing

Mikedigi said:

What I like least about RAW is obviously the slowness,

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Yep...the worst negative,of all,and the main reason,I never even considered it,before.

Mikedigi said:

plus the big files, to which are then added the various JPEG stages and in your case the TIFF.

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With bigger memory cards (and cheaper) ,plus bigger hard drives,not as much an issue,as years ago,at least ,for my experience)

Mikedigi said:

I guess you have to decide what to keep and what to delete at the end . . .

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Well,since only 5% to 20% are keepers,worthy of the time to edit .....storage is my only problem...that is,what to do with the originals.

For now,stored on hard drives,and periodically,stored onto DVD's.

I keep them separate ,from all the edited shots...i will never claim to have the best setup/workflow/archival system

ANAYV

ANAYV said:

ANAYV said:

Thanks for the long answer,

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Your welcome! . . . . .

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Thanks again, some interesting points there!

Mike

Beautiful photographs. I think the one with the wolf could be a little bit brighter but otherwise splendid shots.
--
PSB
Just a grandpa learning to shoot